Farmer’s Diary: The importance of growing food and fuel

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (Fao) regularly sends out news releases that should be shared by farmers, governments, and organisations engaged in the development of agriculture as well as the general public. On February 17, 2011, from its headquarters in Rome, FAO sent out a news release titled “Reducing poverty by growing fuel and food”. It is one thing to have food items like cassava, millet, beans or meat and another to have the fuel needed to prepare it for our eating. It is possible to have the food items right in the home and go to bed hungry because there is no fuel to cook them and actually turn them into edible food. It is therefore very important to integrate food and fuel production in all our farming efforts. “Producing food and energy side by side may offer one of the best formulas for boosting countries’ food and energy security while simultaneously reducing poverty,” reads part of the FAO news release.

The news release is about a study titled, “Making Integrated Food-Energy Systems (IFES) Work for People and Climate” and draws examples from many parts of the world to show how constraints to successfully integrate production of food and energy crops can be overcome. It draws our attention to money lost by the smallholder farmers to buy fossil fuel like paraffin or chemical fertiliser instead of resorting to what could be readily and cheaply available to them on their own farms. It quotes FAO Assistant Director-General for Natural Resources, Alexander Muller, as having said, “Farming systems that combine food and energy crops present numerous benefits to poor rural communities. For example, poor farmers can use leftovers from rice crops to produce bio-energy or in agro-forestry system can use debris of trees used to grow crops like fruits, coconuts or coffee for cooking.” The farmer should be encouraged to plant his own trees which will later serve as fuel for cooking the family’s food. Of course the most preferred trees should have a close bearing on food production and increased family income. We are talking about such trees as calliandra, mutuba and many others that also serve as fodder for his animals or fruit trees like mango, guava and other such trees. Agricultural extension service providers or Naads officials should be in a position to offer more guidance to the farmer on the kind of trees to plant. Some of the trees have a nitrogen-fixing component and are good for soil enrichment. The trees bear roots which serve as nails to keep the soil in place and discourage soil erosion. They act as wind breakers and protect the crops in case of severe storms. They provide shelter to the crops. When their leaves drop on the ground they decompose and turn into manure. We also need trees for rain formation. After the animals have eaten the leaves or the bark off the harvested tree branches, the branches may be preserved as firewood. The trees themselves may later be harvested for timber or charcoal production when they become too big or when their life span expires.